The remarkable relationship between the progressive Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and its players continues to expand, with another player renewing his support of the Board.
West Indies white-ball player Romario Shepherd, a product of the Tucber Park Cricket Club has renewed his sponsorship of the BCB Under-13 tournament for 2023 after sponsoring the team last year.
The Patron Fund is financed by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat
BCB President Hilbert Foster, who leads a massive marketing effort from the Board, stated that the tournament was expected to start soon as the county began preparations for the inter-county Under-13 season.
The tournament would be for players born on or after the first of September 2009 and is expected to start this weekend. A total of 12 teams have registered to take part and they are Bath, Bush Lot United, Achievers, Cotton Tree, Tucber Park, Guymine, Mt Sinai, Edinburgh/East Bank, Rose Hall Canje, Albion, RHT Poonai Pharmacy, and Port Mourant.
Foster stated that the tournament would be played under a round-robin format in three zones and the top two teams advance to the second round. It would be played 30 overs per side, with bowlers allowed a maximum of six overs. The first eight overs of the innings shall be bowled by fast bowlers. The winning team would take home $60,000 and the runners-up $40,000. Trophies would also be distributed to the top two teams while the Man of the Finals would also carry home a prize and medal.
The BCB President stated that the Under-13 tournament would be followed by the historic Rickey Moore Under-11 tournament. The BCB in 2023 has hosted tournaments at the Under 15, 17 and 19 age group at both the club and zone level in addition to school tournaments at the primary and secondary level. He hailed the sponsorship as another red-letter day for Berbice cricket as the Board continues to attract sponsorship from former and current players, who are willing to give back to the game. Shepherd, who made his international debut in 2019, has represented the West Indies in a combined 44 One-Day International (ODI) and T20 matches.
He is also a senior member of the Amazon Warriors team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament, and also plays in the popular Indian Premier League (IPL). He is one of several players whose support the Board has received over the past six years under the presidency of Foster. Other players who have assisted included Shimron Hetmyer, Clayton Lambert, Kevin Bramble, Anthony Bramble, Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Leslaine Lambert, Vishal Nagamootoo, Hemnarine Chattergoon, and Arjune Nandu.
Meanwhile, the BCB would soon benefit from a donation of two bowling machines from the Patron Fund, which is financed by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat.
The machines would be given to the Port Mourant and Cotton Tree Cricket Clubs, which have very active youth sections at all levels. Foster stated that Berbice at the end of next month would have six bowling machines and five batting cages across the county as part of its cricket developmental programme. He expressed thanks to the BCB Patron for his continued assistance to Berbice cricket.
